Milbank Advises Public Power Corporation S.A. on Acquisition of Equity Interests Held by Enel S.p.A in Romania

Milbank LLP advised Public Power Corporation S.A. (“PPC”) in connection with the acquisition of all of the equity interests held by Enel S.p.A. and its subsidiaries in Romania for a total consideration of approximately €1,260 million (the “Acquisition”) and the financing of the Acquisition.

The closing of the Acquisition is expected to occur by the third quarter of 2023 and will be subject to certain customary conditions precedent including, among others, clearance from the relevant antitrust authorities.

The Acquisition represents a transformational event for PPC’s growth strategy with the acquisition of a significant renewables portfolio (both operating and pipeline), leading electricity distribution and supply businesses, as well as PPC’s first material expansion into a new geography. PPC intends to finance the Acquisition with a combination of debt and cash on balance sheet, with €800 million of committed debt financing in the form of a €485 million five-year term loan facility through Greek banks and a €315 million bridge facility through international banks.

PPC is a leading generator and supplier of electricity in Greece providing electricity to approximately 5.7 million end-customers. In addition, PPC holds a 51% interest in the Hellenic Electricity Distribution Network Operator S.A., which is the sole owner and operator of the electricity distribution network. For more than 70 years, PPC has been at the forefront of Greece’s power industry and an integral part of the country’s process of electrification. PPC is publicly listed and its shares are traded on the Main Market of the Athens Exchange with a market capitalization of approximately €3 billion as of 8 March 2023.

The Milbank team was led by Corporate partner Lisa O’Neill, European Leveraged Finance/Capital Markets partner Apostolos Gkoutzinis, Corporate special counsel Andrew Reilly, European Leveraged Finance/Capital Markets special counsel Trevor Truman, Tax special counsel Alan Rafferty, European Leveraged Finance/Capital Markets associates Varun Natteri Mangadu, Chara Makrygianni and Alexia Pimbli, Corporate associates Gemma Cullen and Lewis Whiteoak and Tax associate Cosmos Fung.